


Three Stars

by persistent_pedantry



Series: Other Pokémon Works [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23109577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persistent_pedantry/pseuds/persistent_pedantry
Summary: Julius' character introduction. Set motives, background, you know the deal.
Series: Other Pokémon Works [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661050





	Three Stars

**Author's Note:**

> So here's the tea: I'm terrible at balancing characters--or doing it gracefully, at least. I start them off strong and nerf them like I'm Riot or something. With Julius, I had this idea about a seasoned veteran who took the jobs that others don't take; someone's gotta do them, surely. The problem with this is that I laid it on a little too thick for my liking. He's more balanced nowadays, but you know how it is.
> 
> Anyway, I'll shut up now. Enjoy the story.

_I’ve been a Master Triple for a couple of years now. Even now, I haven’t grown much of a reputation except as the old Gallade coming in to take jobs that no-one else wants. It’s a little funny, to be true._

“Oh, Chatot!” Julius exclaims, coughing briefly as he waves to the approaching avian. “Any jobs for me? I can only watch berries grow for so long, eh?”

“I can imagine. It’s like newcomers at the job board,” Chatot replies, muffled somewhat by the letters kept in his beak. Flapping his wings briefly to wear out the aches, Chatot hops over to him, offering the small bunch of letters. “I have jobs indeed. I have... four rescues, two deliveries, and an outlaw; seven in total.”

“Seven?” Julius repeats, taking the letters with a small ‘thank you’. “Are one of those teams up to something again?” Placing six of the letters on the grass beside him, Julius opens up the first letter: one of the rescue missions... 14F, Midnight Forest? “This is for the Midnight Forest.” he states, somewhat surprised. “How did they even manage to get there?”

“That’s what I said,” Chatot agrees. He motions to the spot beside Julius, opposite the letters. “Do you have a minute to talk, Julius?”

“I’m not joining the guild, Chatot.”

Flustered, Chatot squawks in protest. “You would be exemplary in a Guild! You’re almost at the rank of Wigglytuff himself! Why on earth not!”

“Master Triple-Star Rank and Guildmaster Rank are very, very, very far apart, Chatot. Master Triple is only a quarter of the Guildmaster requirement,” Julius corrects, looking at Chatot with a quiet sigh. “I don’t like the idea of being told what to do, as immature as it sounds. I’ve done well for myself over the years, so why change now?”

“Because of the opportunities! Imagine the—“

“Ch-Chatot, listen,” he interrupts, sighing again. “If I was in the guild, all that I’d do is take the difficult jobs. That would mean that the others might not have the opportunity to challenge themselves.” He places the letter down, starting a separate pile as he takes up the second letter. “I’m happy to help with your unresolved jobs, but I’m not giving up ninety-percent of my earnings just to be told what to do.”

Chatot doesn’t respond for a while, resorting to irritably preening himself until he regains enough composure to reply. “Alright, if that’s what you want to do,” he says in a poor act of aloofness. “You know that I’m only asking to benefit the guild. Now, I was going to say something else but I’ve forgotten it.”

“Is it about the guild?”

“Yes.”

“Chatot, come on.”

”You come on—!”

_I took the jobs that no-one wanted, mainly because they were too difficult. I’ve been in this business for... oh, just over fifty years now? I’m a master of the trade, helped by the fact that I work alone. Despite the team offers, the guild invitations (even when I asked the Pelipper PO to just throw them out), I’ve only ever worked on my own... except when Garde was still with me, but that’s a story I won’t be telling._

Julius doesn’t get too many chances to go to Midnight Forest, mainly due to how ineffably dangerous it can be. With Latios itself rumoured to be at the very end, he’s always gone out of his way to leave before reaching that point. If it’s gone out of its way to go to the very end of the forest, then Latios probably just wants to be left alone.

“How did you even get down here?” Julius asks, looking at the terrified Dugtrio in some sort of defeat. How is someone even able to just... wander into Midnight Forest? How does that work?

“I, I, I don’t know!” One of the heads exclaims.

“We don’t know!” Another corrects.

“We just wanna go home!” The third cries.

Which head does he look at.

“Okay, just... here, hold on.” Julius takes out his badge, a bright diamond gleaming against the black sheen of the badge: a Master★★★ Explorer Badge. The moonlight glimmers against the jewel, reflecting on the Dugtrio. “Just... dig out, next time, could you? I think I had an aneurysm figuring out how you even ended up here and... what-whatever, just go.”

“Thank you!” The three heads ask in scattered unison, seemingly oblivious to Julius’ confusion. As the light of the badge’s reflection shines on them, they disappear in a flash of light.

Julius winces. He’s yet to get used to that, even if he looks away from the flash. “I wonder if I’d still be doing this if the pay wasn’t as good,” he mutters, shining the reflection on himself before disappearing in the same flash of light.

_Sometimes the jobs are easy, sometimes they’re hard, sometimes they’re just... strange. It’s all a massive pot luck, and I think that’s what I love about being an Explorer so much. Maybe the freedom of it all is what keeps me from joining any of those teams, guilds, whatever..._

_I don’t know. If I’m by myself or with a hundred others, I’ll still be damned sure that no Pokémon falls missing, ignored, or harmed. It’s just a childish dream by now, thinking I can save everyone, but there’s always got to be that one delusional old man, doesn’t there?_

Julius sits on the cliff side, his legs crossed. The Kingler like to use Bubble when the sun begins to set. It’s why he decided to set up his base here, really: it’s secluded and right by the cliffside, letting him watch the sunset, overlooking the beach. Sometimes, some of the guild members come down to the beach to watch the sunset, too. They don’t normally see him, but he gives them a wave with his badge in hand, and sometimes they’ll see him and wave back.

He sighs, absently brushing a hand over his badge as the bubbles begin to rise, reflecting on the setting sun. “I... wish you could be here, honey,” Julius sighs, smiling in contented sorrow. He rests a hand on his scarf, slowly feeling over the soft, red fabric. “I haven’t put down the badge just yet, though... well, time’s making it a little hard for me, these days...”

_But delusional or not,_

“But aged or not,”

I‘ll make you proud.

I’ve always strived to.


End file.
